Saturday, July 25, 2015

Saturday, July 25, 2015. Chaos and violence continue, Turkey renews bombing Iraq and the PKK, the US government looks the other way having gotten what it wanted from Turkey, and much more.

Holy warGenocideSuicideHate and cruelty...How can this be holy?If I had a heart I'd cry.These ancient tales... The good go to heavenAnd the wicked ones burn in hell... Ring the funeral bells!If I had a heart I'd cry.
-- "If I Had A Heart," written by Joni Mitchell first appears on her Shine

DEBAKA reports:The Middle East woke up Friday, July 24, to two new full-fledged wars
launched by Jordan and Turkey for cutting down the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant as is forces advanced on their borders. The United
States and Israel are involved in both campaigns. Jordanian armored,
commando and air forces are already operating deep inside Iraq, while
Friday morning, Turkey conducted its first cross-border air strike
against ISIS targets in Syria. Clashes between Turkish troops and
Islamic fighters erupted at several points along the border. Both
governments also conducted mass arrests of suspected Islamists. The
Jordanian police picked up ISIS adherents, while 5,000 Turkish police
detained 250 Islamist and outlawed Kurdish PKK suspects in Istanbul,
Ankara, Izmir and Saniurta. Jordan Friday shut down its only border
crossing with Iraq.

But Turkey's not trying to cut down the Islamic State with these attacks.

It's using the threat or 'threat' of the Islamic State to advance their own interests which is to yet again re-start the war between Turkey and the PKK -- Kurdish fighters who have fought for an independent Kurdish homeland (fought via armed violence) for decades now, since 1984.

Turkey
launched overnight airstrikes against several positions of the outlawed
Kurdistan Worker’s party (PKK) in northern Iraq for the first time in
four years, the country’s government has said. The air raids put an end to a two-year ceasefire between the Turkish
government and the PKK, severely endangering the already fragile peace
process started in 2012 in an attempt to end a bloody conflict that has
killed more than 40,000 people over 30 years.

ITV adds, "The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has said its 2013 truce with Turkey 'has no meaning anymore'." AP explains, "The strikes in Iraq targeted the Kurdistan Workers' Party,
or PKK, whose affiliates have been effective in battling the Islamic
State group. The strikes further complicate the U.S.-led war against the
extremists, which has relied on Kurdish ground forces making gains in
Iraq and Syria." Zia Weise and Chris Stevenson (Independent) note the shift in their report which includes:

“With the bombardment, Turkey has ended the ceasefire,” said Zagros
Hiwa, a spokesman for the PKK and the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK)
based in the Qandil mountains, told The Independent on Sunday.
“It ended the ceasefire and it ended the peace process unilaterally.
From now on, we will continue our struggle against all odds.”

The action of the Turkish government should be immediately and universally called out.

This is not helping anything.

The Turkish government -- probably like many others -- is using the pretext of the Islamic State to attack Iraq.

Now the Turkish government uses the threat or 'threat' of the Islamic State to overturn a peace initiative that they clearly never supported and were only waiting for the first chance to void.

In terms of Turkey, this means the PKK is now engaged in war with them which will mean on the outskirts of Turkey as well as inside.

This was a stupid decision by the Turkish government.

The question right now is whether or not the White House approved this assault.

Did the White House know about it and is that why there's been no major public condemnation of the assaults on northern Iraq from the White House?

The best they can offer, as the BBC notes, is a minor player with minor words:

US White House spokesman Alistair Baskey said Turkey had the right to
defend itself against terrorist attacks by Kurdish rebels and urged the
PKK to renounce terrorism.But he said that Ankara should also avoid violence towards the PKK and seek to de-escalate the conflict.

Jacques Brinon (AP) notes that meek and weak wasn't the response in France where at least a thousand "Kurds and leftist Turks" took the streets of Paris to register their objections to Turkish warplanes bombing northern Iraq with banners decrying the action and some accusing the Turkish government of assisting the Islamic State.

The bombing raises many questions -- such as did the White House agree to look the other way as part of a deal with Turkey to use a Turkish base?

INSKEEP: So why is it a big deal the U.S. can use Turkey as a base?AMOS: Steve, this is a real estate question. It's all about
location. This airbase, Incirlik, is about 200 miles from Syria and ISIS
targets. Now coalition jets are taking off from bases in the Gulf.
They're flying more than a thousand miles. So what this means is less
refueling, more time in the air. And that's a big change. Turkey signing
on is also a game changer. Turkey's been frustrated with Washington
policy on fighting ISIS. They say that you have to fight Bashar al-Assad
in Syria at the same time, but Turkey has been increasingly threatened
by ISIS.

Xinhua offers "Ankara is concerned that Kurds, emboldened by gains in
Iraq and Syria, may have an incentive now to ask for a greater autonomy
and even independence that risks the unitary structure of Turkish state."

AFP notes:The leadership of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has condemned Turkish air strikes against positions of Kurdish fighters in its autonomous region, echoing the remarks of the leadership earlier.Masoud Barzani, president of KRG, spoke to Ahmed Dayutoglu, Turkey's prime minister, over telephone on Saturday and "expressed his displeasure with the dangersou level the situation has reached", according to a KRG statement."He requested that the issue not be escataled to that level because peace is the only way to solve problems and years of negotiations are beter than one hour of war," the statement said.

Liz Sly (Washington Post) explains, "The targeting of Kurdish militants will also complicate the United
States’ air war against the Islamic State, which has relied heavily on a
PKK-allied group of Syrian Kurds to make advances in northern Syria."

Originally, Ankara, Washington and its Arab allies worked closely
together in undermining the Syrian regime and arming Islamist groups
opposed to Damascus. But when ISIS expanded into Iraq and endangered the
regime in Baghdad, Washington made a political turn. It bombed ISIS
and, much to the dismay of Ankara, aligned itself with Iraqi Kurdish
groups. The recent agreement between Iran and the US further undermines
the rapidly declining influence of Ankara.By joining the war against ISIS and simultaneously escalating the
confrontation with the Kurdish nationalist groups, Ankara is trying to
win back some influence over the course of events. By doing so, it is
escalating the ethnic and sectarian tensions in Syria, Turkey and the
entire region, posing a deadly danger for the working class.

A second, no less important, reason for Ankara’s warmongering is
escalating social and political tensions at home. The massacre in Suruç
has triggered a wave of terrorist attacks for revenge, in which the PKK
killed three police officers and a soldier and two alleged ISIS members.
A member of the HDP was killed by an “unidentified murderer.” The
Turkish Prime Minister’s Office stated that the government would take
“any necessary measures to protect public order and national security.”

War is the only answer Barack Obama has.

The laughable Nobel Peace Prize winner works around the clock to ensure more violence in Iraq -- bombing it with US war planes, getting other countries to bomb it, etc.

He may have declared, June 19, 2014, that the only answer for Iraq was a political solution.

Before Iraq's last set of federal
elections, held last April before the country's ongoing security crisis
began, civil society activists and secular and liberal voters were
hoping that a new political grouping, the Civil Democratic Alliance, would make their dreams come true.

At the time, Reuters reported that,
“the Alliance, made up of around 10 liberal and secular parties,
including Iraq’s Communist party, wanted to be an alternative to the
communal politics defining [the] national vote,” and was “aimed at
people who feel so marginalised by Iraq's politics that they are hardly
counted”.

"We want scientists, doctors and
economists. Parliament is no place for clerics," one post on the
Alliance’s Facebook page read at the time.

For some Iraqis, the grouping represented
the country's best chance at a civil, secular state. Unfortunately after
the votes were counted the Civil Democratic Alliance had only managed
to win three seats out of the 328-seat Parliament. Parties based on
sectarian, religious and ethnic groups still dominated. Nonetheless,
there was still some hope that the three new MPs could make a
difference.

However now – over a year since the MPs
were elected – disappointed supporters of the Civil Democratic Alliance
say that their representatives have not achieved much at all. They say
the three MPs - Mithal al-Alousi, Shorouq al-Abayachi and Fayek
al-Sheikh Ali - haven't managed to make an impact on important
decisions, they haven't managed to attract other MPs to the Alliance –
even though many MPs affiliated to sectarian-based parties also believe
in a civil state – and they have not been united when it comes to
debated topics.

And while the White House ignores the political, the State Dept falters to answer even basic questions such as during Friday's press briefing moderated by spokesperson Mark Toner.

QUESTION: On Iraq?MR TONER: Sure.QUESTION: A couple days ago, I think Martin Dempsey was in
Baghdad, and then today – yesterday Ashton Carter was also there in
Baghdad and he visited Erbil. I’m not going to ask you about what
meetings they have done, but there were also meetings between the U.S.
diplomats and the Iraqi officials in Erbil in the Kurdistan region and
also in Baghdad. So there were, like, reports that these meetings
conducted because there are disagreement among Erbil and Baghdad, and
also Baghdad with the Sunnis, over the several operations, and U.S. is
concerned about this disagreement. Do you have anything to share with
us, especially the province of – Anbar province and then Mosul?MR TONER: Sure. Well, I can speak to the fact that, as you
noted, Secretary of Defense Carter was – has been in Iraq for the past
couple days, where he’s met with Iraqi political, military leaders, as
well as Anbari tribal leaders. He was in Baghdad yesterday and Erbil, as
you stated, today to discuss progress and challenges that remain in the
counter-ISIL fight. And I’d refer to Department of Defense for details
of his meetings. Specifically, you were asking about --QUESTION: The disagreement they – between the Sunnis over the
operations in Anbar, and also the Mosul operation, which the Peshmerga –
in the beginning they said that they will be part of it, but we have
heard different kind of statements that they haven’t got enough weapons.
And then the U.S. is now involved in the talks with – between Erbil and
Baghdad and also the tribes.MR TONER: Yeah. I don’t have anything about talks we may or
may not be having. I mean, obviously, we consult all the time with the
Iraqi ministry of defense and military as well as the government,
obviously. This is Iraqis’ fight – Iraq’s fight, rather, and it – the
Iraqi Security Forces, as we’ve talked about, are working in conjunction
with the so-called Popular Mobilization Forces, and those include both
Sunni and Shia. And that’s all under the command and control of the
Iraqi military and government, and that’s what – that would be right and
proper and fitting, and that’s what we would support. We believe that
the Iraqi military has command and control over the entire operations.QUESTION: According to your assessment – because General John
Allen and also Brett McGurk, they are the people – State Department
people and also they are on the ground – these forces, are they ready
for the operations that you are willing to be conducted anytime soon in
Anbar and also in Mosul?

MR TONER: I think in terms of Anbar province, as you
mentioned, those operations continue. I don’t really have any
battlefield assessments to offer. Obviously, we’ve been working very
hard to train and equip some of these forces, continue to do so with the
idea that – especially some of the local forces can really take the
fight much more effectively to ISIL, but again, under the command and
control of the Iraqi military. But I don’t have any kind of update or
assessment to give you today.

WASHINGTON
– U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee
on Veterans’ Affairs, spoke on the floor
of the Senate regarding the recent committee passage of legislation
aimed at increasing accountability at the Department of Veterans
Affairs. He was joined on the floor by fellow committee members Sens.
Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as well
as Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

At a markup
held Wednesday, the committee approved both the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act of 2015
(S.1082), which gives the VA Secretary greater firing authority over
bad actors in the department, and S.627, a bill that prohibits the VA
from granting bonuses to underperforming employees.

Isakson delivered the following remarks on the floor of the Senate:

“As
chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee in the United States
Senate, I'm proud to be joined by other members of the committee for a
colloquy and a report to the American people on the progress
we're making to hold the VA accountable for our veterans and for the
taxpayers.

“As
all will remember, Phoenix, Ariz., had a terrible tragedy at the VA
Hospital in Phoenix last year. Because of missed appointments, erased
records and consults that were removed, veterans waiting
for services never got them and, in three cases, they died. That was
malfeasance in office and brought a great scandal to the VA.

“In
January when our committee took hold, we decided to go to the Justice
Department and the VA’s Inspector General and say, ‘Go into the VA.
Investigate these incidents taking place and if we find
criminal wrongdoing or civil wrongdoing we should prosecute these
people to make sure it doesn't happen again.’

“Now
I'm never happy when anybody is indicted, but I was satisfied that last
Friday the first indictment came down from the Justice Department
against a VA employee. Unfortunately in my state of
Georgia at the VA hospital in Augusta for 50 counts of falsifying
medical records, the results of which ended up benefiting the employee
and hurting veterans.

“And
I promise the American people and the members of the Senate that’s not
going to be the last indictment. We're going to see to it that people
are held accountable for their actions. We owe nothing
less to our veterans than that type of treatment.

“Wednesday,
the VA committee met in the Senate and we approved two great bills on
our effort to bring about greater accountability. One of those bills was
the Rubio-Johnson bill which allows the
firing and the holding accountable of VA employees for malfeasance,
misconduct in office, or for cause.

“As
many people know the VA oftentimes in disciplining people just moves
them to another job at the same pay but they can't move them out of the
system, so the accountability system never takes
place. There is no sense of accountability and veterans are not well
served. Thanks to the Rubio-Johnson bill, people who are terminated for
cause will have a brief hearing and a chance to justify their case. And
if their case is not justified they will be
removed from the veterans’ administration health services agency and
they will be fired. That's the type of accountability every American who
is employed in their job at home has. We think it's the same
accountability every Department of Veterans Affairs employee
ought to have.

“After
that we passed the Ayotte-Cassidy bill, a bill that I was really proud
of because Senator Cassidy and Senator Ayotte said the following: ‘You
know, it's just not right for somebody who's
not doing their job to get a bonus.’ As many people know, bonuses were
paid in the VA last year to employees that were in fact being
reprimanded for misconduct and bad behavior. You cannot take away a
benefit retroactively and this bill does not do that but
it says to the VA prospectively, rewards cannot be earned and bonuses
cannot be earned for those not conducting their job in the way they
should.

“These
are the type of accountability measures the people of the United States
expect. As chairman of the committee, I always want to brag about the
good things our VA employees do and they do a
lot of good things. For every one scandal you hear about, there are
hundreds of thousands of benefits veterans are receiving because of
good, loyal employees. But the best employees in the world are brought
down a notch when those who are not good are allowed
to continue to stay on the job even if they’re not performing or get
bonuses when they're not performing.

“I'm
so proud of the Ayotte-Cassidy bill and the Rubio-Johnson bill which
say to the American people we're going to have accountability. We're
going to pay bonuses for good behavior, not for bad
behavior. And if somebody doesn't do their job, they'll be held
accountable and they'll lose their job if they're fired for cause and
that cause is justified. That's what the American people expect of the
Senate. That's what they expect of our committee and
I'm proud to report to the Senate today that started.”

The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress.

Isakson
is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard
from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since
he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home
state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations
representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000
veterans.

“This year, we’ve seen major victories
for the LGBT community, but even as we take strides toward equality, we
must remember that there is more work to do,” said Patty Murray. “There
is no place for discrimination in our country. Yet, far too many LGBT
Americans and women remain vulnerable to discrimination simply because
of who they are or who they love. We need the Equality Act to protect
Americans from discrimination based on their sexual orientation, sex, or
gender identity, regardless of what state they live in. I’m proud to
support this legislation, and I look forward to building on the momentum
we’ve seen recently and deliver on our nation’s promise of equality for
all.”

Despite major advances in equality for
LGBT Americans, including nationwide marriage equality, in the majority
of states, an LGBT couple could be married in the morning and risk being
fired from their jobs or evicted from their apartment in the afternoon.
The Equality Act of 2015 would ensure full federal non-discrimination
equality by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to other
protected classes, such as race or religion, in existing federal laws.

The bill would ban discrimination in a
host of areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations,
jury service, access to credit, and federal funding. The bill would also
add protections against sex discrimination in parts of
anti-discrimination laws where these protections had not been included
previously, including in public accommodations and federal funding.

The legislation was filed simultaneously
in the U.S. House of Representatives by 158 Representatives, led by Rep.
David Cicilline (D-RI).

Of the visit, Thomas Gaist (WSWS) observes:US military forces in Iraq will take on a more direct combat role
once US-backed national and local forces have reconquered territory now
controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), US Defense
Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday during an address to US troops in
Baghdad.Carter’s visit is part of preparations for another
escalation of combat operations in Iraq, relying on an array of proxy
forces, in an effort to consolidate Washington’s military grip over the
country.

Commanders of Iraqi Shiite militias have said their next focus will be
not on Ramadi but Falluja, an adjacent city under insurgent control for
more than a year.
"The government of Iraq has indicated that they have no intention of
using the Shiite militia forces as part of the liberation of Ramadi, " [Pentagon spokesperson Col Steve] Warren said Thursday.

But apparently they have no such concerns about Falluja?

Or is it just that Haider al-Abadi has no control over the Shi'ite militias?

About Me

We do not open attachments. Stop e-mailing them. Threats and abusive e-mail are not covered by any privacy rule. This isn't to the reporters at a certain paper (keep 'em coming, they are funny). This is for the likes of failed comics who think they can threaten via e-mails and then whine, "E-mails are supposed to be private." E-mail threats will be turned over to the FBI and they will be noted here with the names and anything I feel like quoting.
This also applies to anyone writing to complain about a friend of mine. That's not why the public account exists.